Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $7.97 and last traded at $7.95, with a volume of 5610285 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SAN. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Trading Up 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $120.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $6.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.94 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. On average, research analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.1152 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Banco Santander during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, WealthCollab LLC increased its stake in Banco Santander by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, SA provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services.